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Doctor's Orders (episode)
In order to traverse a trans-dimensional disturbance safely, Phlox must put the rest of the crew in stasis and pilot Enterprise himself. Summary Teaser is moving very slowly through a pinkish-purple cloud. The warp nacelles are inactive. On board, there is nobody on the bridge, in engineering, in the mess hall, or even in the corridors, apart from Porthos, who is being chased by Doctor Phlox. Porthos stops, but only because he's got to where he wants to be; he paws at one of the crew quarter doors. Phlox suddenly understands, and lets him in. In the cabin, Porthos jumps up onto the bed to look at Captain Archer, who is lying there unconscious, with a silver disc attached to his head. Act One Phlox and Porthos are in Phlox's cabin, discussing why Porthos keeps trying to go back to see the captain. Phlox discovers on his PADD that dogs are very territorial, and that a dog called "Scruffers" once traveled three thousand kilometers to get back to see his master. Phlox tells Porthos that he has heard of a Pycan space moth that traveled half a light year, but that it probably didn't have a name. Phlox takes Porthos for a walk, meanwhile dictating a letter to Dr. Jeremy Lucas via the PADD. They arrive at the galley, where Phlox gets some leeches to eat, and gives one to Porthos, claiming he probably won't like it but that his intestinal tract will be thoroughly cleansed. Phlox then continues his letter, musing about his assignment to Enterprise. Two days earlier, Enterprise first encountered a trans-dimensional disturbance similar to one they encountered . However, this one is different, because it has only just started forming. It was also on a direct path between the ship and Azati Prime. To avoid several weeks of a detour, T'Pol suggested going through the disturbance. Dr. Phlox explained how he would need to put all the crew members into a coma, though Commander Tucker was extremely reluctant about the proposal. He suggested that they should cross the disturbance at impulse, rather than risk the unpredictable effects of warp drive in the disturbance. Despite Tucker's lack of enthusiasm for Phlox's plan, the captain agreed to it. Visiting Travis Mayweather – who is also in a coma, with a metallic, disc-shaped medical monitor on his forehead – Phlox continues his letter, saying that his own physiology is sufficiently different from the Humans' that he won't be affected by the disturbance, so he volunteered to oversee the wellness of the crew. Phlox then received basic training in the running of the ship, including helm and engineering operations. He also assured Captain Archer about his plan, thinking Archer was having second thoughts, though Archer clarified that he already trusted Phlox with his forthcoming supervisory role, a vote of confidence he was thankful for. In engineering, Phlox hears something odd, but finds nothing. He continues his letter, saying he'll be relieved when he can wake the crew, in another two days, sixteen hours, and forty-three minutes. Phlox is jogging through the corridors of Enterprise, singing a song in Denobulan. ( ) He walks into sickbay, appearing naked, and apologizes to his animals because he's late for their feedings. "]] Later, in the mess hall, Phlox is watching The Court Jester, a 1956 movie, with some popcorn. Suddenly, he hears something odd. Phlox looks at Porthos as if to check to see if the dog heard it, then goes to see if he can find out what it was he heard, though Porthos is at first hesitant to accompany him. Walking through the deserted corridors, Phlox tells Porthos that he shouldn't have let Tucker talk him into watching The Exorcist last week. Then, he hears a sound again, and tracks it to launch bay 1, where Porthos runs away from him. Phlox looks up and sees a small gas leak, which is rattling a chain. Suddenly, T'Pol appears behind Phlox, and startles him. Phlox voices a rhetorical question to T'Pol, asking if they are on a starship or in a haunted house. Eager for some company, he invites her to dinner later, which she accepts without much enthusiasm. Back in engineering, Phlox is running one of the routine operations that Tucker showed him, when he hears, and this time sees, a shadowy figure running away on one of the upper platforms. Angrily frustrated, Phlox calls T'Pol on the intercom, presuming it must have been her, and compares her to a Draxxan cloud viper. However, she claims to be on the bridge. Act Two Phlox and T'Pol are in the galley, where Phlox prepares a meal that his fifth grandmother made for each of his weddings. Apparently, can never get it right and was lacking in his Plomeek broth skills as well, an opinion Phlox and T'Pol agree on. Phlox talks to T'Pol about how crowded his homeworld is, not by necessity but by choice, because Denobulans enjoy living in large groups. For him, being alone on the Enterprise has been unsettling, but T'Pol has found it to be a welcome respite. T'Pol doesn't eat or drink anything during the meeting. While back in sickbay again and then wandering through the corridors, Phlox continues his letter to Dr. Lucas, talking about how much he misses Denobula. He visits Captain Archer to give him a check-up, and is startled by a shadowy form that he sees on the hull, directly outside the window in the captain's quarters. Frightened, he calls T'Pol. In the situation room, they discuss Enterprise s sensors, which have found no unaccounted lifeforms nor any alien ships nearby. Phlox is unconvinced but T'Pol simply advises him to catch up on his sleep. Phlox continues with his rounds, only to find a Xindi-Insectoid in Ensign Sato's quarters. He is chased by the Xindi through the corridors and sees the silhouette of a second Insectoid that pursues him until he gets to an airlock, in which he traps himself until the Xindi give up and move away, having apparently given up. From inside the airlock, Phlox contacts T'Pol, reporting that the Xindi are on board Enterprise. In the ship's armory, Phlox relays news of the incident to T'Pol, who is very skeptical of his account. He meanwhile arms himself with a phase pistol that he, after loading, offers to T'Pol. Although she doesn't take the weapon, he insists on searching the entire ship, with or without her help. Act Three Phlox is conducting the shipwide search, T'Pol with him. The areas they search include a set of crew quarters and a cargo bay. By the time they have searched four decks and are walking through a corridor together, T'Pol has become very vocal about her doubts that they will find anything out of the ordinary. Despite using a scanner to look for other lifeforms, Phlox almost shoots Porthos by mistake. This leads to an argument between Phlox and T'Pol, who starts to get angry with him. Adamant that he will prove he is not hallucinating, Phlox leaves her. In an adjoining corridor, he hears Ensign Sato calling him over the com system. When Phlox reaches Sato's quarters, she is in a steaming shower. As she emerges, she appears grossly disfigured, blaming him for her condition, and reminding him that the crew were under his care. Stumbling from her bathroom, Phlox looks back and then sees Sato lying peacefully on her bed. No-one is actually in the bathroom and the shower is turned off. Phlox calls T'Pol with a request for her to meet him in sickbay. En route, Phlox opens a turbolift door but is shocked to find Archer apparently standing inside the turbolift. As the captain seems unconcerned about Phlox having claimed to have witnessed Xindi outside the ship, Phlox realizes "Archer" is actually another illusion. This belief is proven when T'Pol meets Phlox in the corridor, momentarily distracting him, and he looks back to see there is no-one else there. Back in sickbay, Phlox – having scanned his own brain – notifies T'Pol that the scan shows he's been subtly affected by the disturbance as well, and has in fact been hallucinating. Phlox considers handing over control of the ship to T'Pol, but she refuses after she admits she's been having trouble controlling her emotions due to the trans-dimensional disturbance and could become irrational. On the bridge, they discover that they're still over a quarter of a light year from the edge of the disturbance, although they should have been out of it by now. If they continue at impulse, it will take them another ten weeks to get out of. Act Four In the situation room, Phlox struggles to understand why the ship is still in the trans-dimensional disturbance. T'Pol concludes that the phenomenon must be expanding at an accelerated rate. She insists they engage the warp drive. In engineering, T'Pol is exceptionally unhelpful, because she is finding it too difficult to concentrate on anything. Although Phlox has a dozen scientific degrees, none of them are in warp field propulsion. Since T'Pol can't help, she essentially advises Phlox to instead "read the manual" about how to engage the warp drive. Phlox is momentarily distracted by another hallucination, this time of Tucker reminding him about his warning not to engage the warp drive inside the disturbance. A few minor problems with the warp reactor briefly cause T'Pol to advise Phlox to awaken the real Tucker so he can help, regardless of the fact he will consequently die due to exposure to the disturbance. Finally, Phlox manages to take the ship to warp two and stabilize the vessel. Once the ship is out of the trans-dimensional disturbance, Phlox wakens Archer, commenting there were "only a few minor glitches" during the transit. Phlox additionally reunites Porthos with the captain. T'Pol and Phlox subsequently walk through a corridor with Commander Tucker, who is feeling slightly light-headed due to having eaten no food during the past four days. After Phlox recommends Tucker to "get to the mess hall", Tucker dutifully departs, having had no interaction with T'Pol. She offers to help rouse the still-comatose officers but Phlox politely declines her assistance and instead arranges to walk her to her quarters. There, Phlox finds that T'Pol too has been unconscious in her quarters the whole time, and realizes that he has actually hallucinated her presence during most of the journey through the disturbance. Having realized large portions of his letter to Dr. Lucas are obviously fictitious, Phlox admits in the letter that he has therefore considered deleting the document but has concluded it might nonetheless prove "entertaining", a statement he uses to end the letter. Phlox joins T'Pol at a table in the mess hall, bustling with officers who have since been awakened. She relays to him that Tucker has complimented the way Phlox supervised the ship. Whereas she suspects he enjoyed being alone on Enterprise, he mentions he was not as alone as he had expected. Meanwhile, Enterprise is still warping toward its Azati Prime destination. Memorable quotes "I'd be better off talking to my Pyrithian bat." : - Phlox, to Porthos "Bangs, squeaks, rattling chains... is this a starship or a haunted house?" "Are you alright, Doctor? You seem somewhat agitated." : - Phlox and T'Pol, as he was investigating a noise in the shuttlebay "Would you mind not creeping around the ship like a Draxxan cloud viper?" : - Phlox, to T'Pol "My fifth grandmother made this for each of my weddings. Chef's tried to prepare it, but he never gets it quite right." "Yes, his plomeek broth leaves something to be desired as well." "I always thought so, but, uh, I was afraid to mention it." : - Phlox and T'Pol, while sharing a meal in the galley "Being alone on ''Enterprise – just the two of us – has proven more stressful than I imagined. Two people aren't even enough for a Denobulan marriage – a proper one, anyway." "''I'm sorry I haven't been better company." : - Phlox and T'Pol "Get away from her!" : - Phlox, to the Xindi-Insectoid in Hoshi Sato's quarters "I'm not delusional!" "Are you certain? As I recall, you once told Ensign Sato that it's considered healthy for Denobulans to hallucinate. It's how you release stress." : - Phlox and T'Pol "I'm fine!" "You nearly shot the captain's dog!" : - Phlox and T'Pol "I'm a physician, not an engineer!" : - Phlox, to T'Pol, as he begins his attempt to start the warp reactor "The procedures for restarting the reactor are in the database." "You're suggesting I read the manual?!" : - Phlox and T'Pol "How are you feeling?" "A little woozy." "I'm not surprised, you haven't eaten anything in four days. Get to the mess hall!" "Aye, aye, doc." : - Phlox and Tucker "I'll assist you in waking the others." "Oh, that won't be necessary. I appreciate the offer, but, uh, you need some rest. Let me walk you to your quarters." "Doctor's orders?" : - T'Pol and Phlox "Commander Tucker was complaining that it will take him days to realign the warp coils." "Yes, he gave me quite a talking to." "He also said, and I quote, 'Phlox did one hell of a job.' ''" "''You must have enjoyed having the ship to yourself." "It wasn't nearly as empty as I anticipated." : - T'Pol and Phlox Background information * The final draft script of this episode was issued on . The archival version of that draft was submitted on . * A particular voiceover was not scripted. In that dialogue, Phlox, continuing his letter to Dr. Lucas, says that he himself and T'Pol are relieved about the imminent conclusion of their time alone aboard Enterprise. * Because only existing sets of Enterprise were used, this episode qualifies as a true bottle show. * It is also one of the very few episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise (or any Star Trek series) to credit no guest stars. * This is the only episode of Star Trek: Enterprise with the "I'm a doctor, not a..." phrase. Phlox says the line "I'm a physician, not an engineer." * John Billingsley was pleased with the opportunity for a leading role in the episode, particularly due to its "action and adventure quality". However, he noted that when makeup was factored in, his time spent working on the episode was close to 16 hours for each shooting day. http://www.trektoday.com/interviews/billingsley0204.shtml * Billingsley was only lukewarm regarding the finished episode. "For my tastes – and for what I think I'm best utilised to do – the episodes that are more reflective, philosophical and meditative – that deal with issues such as cultural conflict – I think those are the things that I am probably best equipped to do." http://www.trektoday.com/interviews/billingsley0204.shtml * This is the fourth time anyone in Star Trek has spoken Denobulan. The other three episodes were , , and . Denobulan was also spoken in a deleted scene from the episode . * This episode has a striking resemblance to the Star Trek: Voyager episode , where Seven of Nine must navigate the ship through a hazardous region of space and the crew is in a comatose state. She begins to hallucinate, too. Links and references Main cast *Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer *John Billingsley as Doctor Phlox *Jolene Blalock as Subcommander T'Pol *Dominic Keating as Lieutenant Malcolm Reed *Anthony Montgomery as Ensign Travis Mayweather *Linda Park as Ensign Hoshi Sato *Connor Trinneer as Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker III Uncredited co-stars *Mark Correy as Alex *Daphney Dameraux as an operations division ensign *John Jurgens as a command division crewman *Ator Tamras as a science division ensign *John Wan as an operations division crewman *Breezy or Windy as Porthos Archive footage *Danny Kaye as Hubert Hawkins *Glynis Johns as Maid Jean *Mildred Natwick as Griselda References antimatter constrictor coil; Beagle; canine; ; class C gravimetric field distortion; coma; The Court Jester; Delphic Expanse; Denobula; deuterium; dilithium matrix; Draxxan cloud viper; Earth; The Exorcist; galley; Giacomo; hand scanner; haunted house; horse; hull plating; impulse manifold; intestinal tract; ion storm; Kaybin District; kilometer; Klingon, ancient; leech; Lucas, Jeremy; magnetic constriction coil; millicochrane; movie database; neocortex; neurochemistry; parsec; particle confinement; pestle; physiology; plasma relay; plomeek broth; popcorn; Pycan space moth; Pyrithian bat; San Francisco; scientific degree; Scruffers; sir; spatial-compression index; Starfleet training; theta waves; T'Pol (illusory); trans-dimensional disturbance; unnamed red giant; Vulcans; warp coil; warp field; Xindi attack; Xindi-Insectoid |next= }} cs:Doctor's Orders (epizoda) de:Auf ärztliche Anweisung es:Doctor's Orders fr:Doctor's Orders ja:ENT:フロックス船長の孤独 nl:Doctor's Orders Category:ENT episodes